Beer: Ratings & Reviews

An IPA injected with 18% rye? Wonder how this will do. On to the beer:

Pours rich dark from the bottle, which it settles into a dark amber in color with an awesome, thick head. There's a litle rye, ginger, and hops with a metallic twist to it in the nose. Now to taste it - leans towards the fruity side, not as hop dominant as the other IPA's. The flavor doesn't explode on you, but it's still pleasant. What makes this one unique is it's dry finsih (from the rye I suppose) that allows you to quaff this brew with ease.

I was wondering what the difference between the two Bear Republic IPA's would be, and this I would label the "different" one with its rye shot. The other offering I will try soon to compare notes. (Update: Racer 5 is tastier, but Hop Rod Rye is more quaffable.)

Pouring this beer produces a tan head at one half inches tall. The body is a rich garnet and brown shade with excellent clarity. The head retention is good but nothing too special.

The nose of this beer presents a sharp rush of hop aromas. The hop smells are very earthy with a salt and pine resin kick. There is only a very muted sweetness in the background.

A flowing presentation of hops glides over the tongue with the first sip. Much like the aromas, the hops are very earthy with pine, grapefruit and many bitter flavors. A sweet maltiness blends with a light peat flavor. The hops regain strength for a long, bitter finish. The most impressive characteristic of this beer is the flavor presentation. There are mountains of hop flavors in the beer but it never overpowers the senses. This was wonderfully crafted.

The mouthfeel has mild carbonation and a balanced, spicy feeling from the hops.

Drinkability is great. The powerhouse of flavors matched with their awesome presentation make this easy to enjoy in large quantities.

Pours out a rusty hazelnut with plenty of carbonation present in the body. Head is thick, creamy, and beige, and holds up extremely well. There are some dimples atop the foam and with each sip there is left some lacing that reminds me of the residue left by the steamed milk on a cappuccino. The aroma is of citrus, vanilla custard, toffee, caramel, cane syrup, and a little hint of rye. Alcohol merely peaks out from this, but is well subdued considering the strength. In the flavor, malts start off sweet, bready and with dried fruits and caramel. The hops start to push into the middle then come into the forefront by the finish. Flavor is mostly citric but there are undertones of pine, earth, and strong herbs such as rosemary. A very understated rye makes itself known amongst the hops, which I think works well, but I would rather the rye to be a little more present. The bitterness does not overstep the sweet malts in the end, rather they create a balance. Mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, moderate to full, and the carbonation is extremely mellow. It's rare to find a beer of this strength as being this drinkable, but you don't notice it while you drink. Amazing beer.

Poured from a 22oz. bomber into a pint glass. The label itself is great- black background with a hot rod car- lots of flourescent eccentric colors.

TONS of head on this one- over an inch at least- very fluffy with a tan hue. Poured a beautiful amber brown- tinted with reds. Looked delicious and picture perfect.

This is a hop bomb- tons of hops in the scent (grapefruit) as well as the taste. The rye gives it a bitter taste and balances out the sweetness (caramel, malty) undertones. This is quite a sticky one- leaves tons of lacing on your glass as well as your lips after consumed.

I absolutely loved this beer- flavors were blended so well together to make a truly unique and enjoyable IPA. If this were more readily available in my area, I would be drinking this all the time.

The West Coast breweries are top notch at the moment and this may be the best offering I have had to date.

Enjoyed this with an excellent Reuben sandwich. Seemed appropriate, and went well together.

Pours with massive mountains of head that has peaks and valleys. Copper red color, slightly translucent at the bottom, thicker in the middle. Extremely hoppy with a desirable bitterness. more on the floral side, as opposed to the pine flavor. Still has a nice mix of both. Very intense, perhaps too much if your not into IPAs, but perfect for those who are.

The smell is wonderful with the hops obviously coming in heavy and strong. Spicy hop notes abound mostly with this brew.

The taste of this American IPA is outstanding, surely one of my favorite IPAs to have come along. Very hoppy with spicy and citrus notes running around. The malt is present albeit in a subtle way, which is good. It lets the hops run rampant!

It's got a medium body and feels good across the palate. Good carbonation and ends with a somewhat dry feel.

Amazingly drinkable brew. It packs a bunch with 8% ABV but it's pretty well hidden. This is surely a beer I'd want to drink throughout the summer.

Pours an almost brown ruby red. Nice thin white head with tons of lacing.
Smell is spicy sweet malts, the rye really stands out in the nose.
Taste is an amplification of the smell. Sweet malt balanced well with hop bitterness. The malts fill the mouth and the bitter hops bring up the rear. Smooth and creamy with a very nice carbonation level. Slight citrus hops blend well with the caramel malt notes.
Really nice beer, easy to drink on a cool spring night. This would go well with many heavily spiced foods as it stands up on its own.

Poured a ruby amberish color, quite dark for an IPA but still beautiful. Nice creamy head and excellent lacing and carbonation. Smell is great as well, juicy grapefruit hops and sweetness. This is definitely one of my favorite tasting IPAs hands down. I can't tell that rye has been used but for damn sure know that this is for the hopheads. Citrus, fruity hops and a malty balance that makes this one mouth watering. Not quite thirst quenching but for sure mouth watering on the tongue. Silky smooth and just utterly great. Very drinkable beer here, although I do like the more standard IPAs as well. Bear Republic has to be one of my favorite breweries. Yummy.

American IPA, eh? I guess that's what the first guy thought...and a good example of why I don't much care for style guidelines. This is a big hoppy red, Northern Cali style - bring it on!

Pours a clear, dark amber, with a thick, amber tinged eggshell head of a good 2 fingers, very long lasting leaving lots of sticky, bubbly lace -nice!

The aroma is very appetizing and right up my ally. Bright, pungent hops, sweet fruit- cherry and grape Yummm.

The taste is more complex and balanced, but still true to the aroma. Just amped up spiciness, malt, resin and pine, brown sugar, but still sweet and fruity without being to much. This reminds me a lot of Lagunitas Lucky 13 but a bit less zing (or better balanced?)...two great beers from the Sonoma valley.

The mouthfeel is a bit oily, but on the lighter side for such a flavorful beer.

This is very drinkable. The warmer it gets, the better, but who has the patience to let it sit around. Grab one and throw it back!

Got this beer last week immediately when I heard it would be available here in Ohio.

Appearance - pours into my glass a very nice amberish color. Found my glass to display a lighter color at the bottom and the beer appears to be much darker toward the top. Poured with a very large head of caramel color.

Smell - Smells very nice balance of the hops and rye, with the rye shining through a little more.

Taste - I can taste the rye more than I can smell. Not very hoppy, but that is probably the intention with the addition of the rye. I should compare to their Racer X IPA

Mouth - Not as carbonated as I would have thought, but the taste more than makes up for the lack of carbonation.

Drink - I thoroughly enjoyed every sip of this drink, and would have another one soon if I bought two ;(

Very dark copper to brown, translucent, with a mountainous rocky head with meringue like texture. Too much head. wow, it just won't dissipate!

Nose is a very fresh, clean spicy citrusy & prickly rye character. I could just sit here and nose this beer for hours.

On the palate is a medium to full bodied ale with generous malt, rye spice without any bad bite, and a nice tart citrusy hop note that rounds it out oh so well. This is a full flavored beer for sure, but they found a way to keep things in harmony. Amazing!

I don't really consider this beer to be an IPA of any kind. There are a lot of flavors going on here that would be better suited if it were placed in the American Strong Ale style. That said, this is an interesting beer that will surely appeal to IPA enthusiasts.

Was in Columbus yesterday and my wife and I stop at Barley's. On tap was 8 brews and Hop Rod Rye. For some time now I've been craving this brew and their it was on tap. The appearance was a dark amber with a slight ruby shine, also held a beige two finger head. Left an excellent amount of sticky and salty lacing (lip smacking). Darkest AIPA I've seen to date. The smell was phemon. A blast of grapefruit citrus upfront with a some piney in the middle. Also experienced a hint of caramel, nutty malt and toffee. The taste began slightly sweet plum that was well balanced with the hoppy blast toward the end. Somewhere in the middle this southern biscuit shine through. This brew felt middle to full, bold, slightly oily and crisp with a dry ending. The only down fall was, with a long drive ahead of us, we could only have one drink. If not I drink this beauty all night. Great brew. Enjoy

22 oz. bottle acquired at Claymont, DE Total Wine
Pours a hazy dark orange into standard pint glass. Takes an aggressive pour to generate a decent head, faded quickly.
Aromas of citrusy/piney hops dominate.
Taste is unevenly balanced on the side of hops, but still with a goodmalt presence. Rye lends a spicy afternote.
Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, medium bodied, with a slickness from the rye.
Overall, a fine IIPA. At 8% a bomber is enough for one sitting.

Pine and citrus with up front with huge malt smells in the background. Impressive. Slightly floral. A bit boozy. Some chocolate. Seems like it could/should open up a little with some warming, but I'm still not getting a whole lot.

Mostly sweet. Some caramel. No real distinct flavor jumps out here. Surprising. Some dark berries, mildly vinous character. Gets a strong grapefruit bitterness on the aftertaste that grows as you work your way down the glass. Some citric and wheatlike flavors work there way in eventually.

Fairly light on the body. Pretty smooth. Not much there in the way of mouthfeel. It just comes and goes. Reasonable balance. Definitely bitter and slightly acidic on the finish. That 8% is pretty well hidden.

One of the strangest IPAs I've ever had. It's just ending slick and bitter. Seems like, based on the look, scent and reputation of this brew, there should be more here. Maybe I'm off tonight or maybe this is a bad bottle. Maybe I just don't like it. Not sure what else to tell ya.

This beer pours a deep red color with flecks of what the bottle says are hops. It looks like dead yeast to me. The body is fairly cloudy. There was an exceptionally fluffy white head. There is a lot of rye and hops in the aroma. It has a good malt profile as a backbone though. The flavor is very complex. Initially there is a good sweet maltiness followed by a equal amount of hop bitterness over the sweetness. It finishes very balanced, maybe even a bit on the sweet side. This is a good IPA, although there is something about it I'm not crazy about. It might be a bit sweet for me. It is good though.

Appearance: Pours a dark copper to brown color. Head is very foamy and about one and a half fingers deep. Very good retention and heavy coat of lace lined the glass.

Smell: It's a mix of grains, hops, and citrus fruits. As far as citrus goes, it's a sweet blend of grapefruit and mango scents. Hops are nice and piney. The light grainy smell must be due to the rye. Certainly smells a bit malty as well.

Taste: I'm supremely impressed. It's got a slight sweet taste. Hops are nice and bitter. Definitely a bit dry. The rye aspect of it is very interesting. It gives it an earthy, grainy twist that develops into a toffee malt taste. It's extremely well balanced.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability: It's light to medium bodied. Extremely smooth. Carbonation and abv are ideal. Very, very drinkable. Overall, this really is a fantastic beer. It's my first experience with Bear Republic and I walk away looking forward to the next. Definitely recommended.

Into a pint glass, pours like cream a beautiful copper amber, falling gently as an full two inch head of frothy foam head caps it off, off-white, with heaps of lacing all over the place. Lovely. The aroma is fresh and sweet and fruity, floral hops of goodness. I'm having a very hard time finding anything wrong, or, anything not right, with this beer.

And then, taste. Utterly fantastic. And the wonderful thing is it changes slightly as it warms, giving it even more dynamics. The hops are definitely the star of the show, dominant but not overbearing, a biscutty, caramel malt doing it job balancing thing out and the mouth only magnifies the beauty, its velvety smoothness, well tempered carbonation, and coating, full body making this a fantastic beer to drink. In other words, I continue to be impressed with the beers Bear Republic puts out, and would dare to say they are massively underrated, or at least much under-hyped. I'll have to find some more of this one, and soon.